Arlene Veenstra: Biblical Counselor

Arlene Veenstra has recently retired as a Biblical Counselor at Elisha House (a Pregnancy & Family Support Centre which provides counselling for individuals, couples, and families who are actively seeking God in the redirection of their lives) after 24 years.

 Arlene has also gifted our church hours upon hours of service through teaching courses, leading Bible studies, listening, redirecting, encouraging, and counselling.

Arlene and her husband Boot have been married for almost 39 years. They have been blessed with 18 grandchildren...9 boys and 9 girls. Arlene has eleven siblings and is an aunt to many. In Arlene's spare time she enjoys reading, scrapbooking, watching TV, and playing games.

How and when did you get into counselling?

About 30 years ago Donna Becket from Niagara Life Centre came to speak at our church.  It was after listening to her that I felt a tug on my heart to get involved.  My children were quite young at that time so I knew it would have to be in the future as my first responsibility was to my family.

 In 1990 I took the volunteer training course through NLC and began to volunteer in the Welland Centre as leader for the Mothers’ Friendship Program.

 As I worked with the girls I realized that I needed to become more equipped so I went back to school.  I attended Niagara College and graduated with my Social Service Worker Diploma  in 1994. 

As I counselled with people I realized I needed to get more training in how to help people apply the gospel to their lives in very real and practical ways.  It was then that I began taking courses through CCEF (Christian Counselling Education Foundation) in Philadelphia.  The Lord has used that education to make the most profound changes in my life and counselling.

What did you do at Elisha House?

I served at Elisha House almost since its beginning (24 years).  In the beginning years of the Centre I did whatever needed to be done.  I did pregnancy tests, pregnancy options counselling, one on one biblical counselling, taught classes, facilitated healing groups and even did a lot of fundraising. 

However over the years as the Centre grew and more people came on, I was able to focus on one on one biblical counselling and facilitating healing groups.

   

What courses have you taught and what do you enjoy about teaching the most?

I have facilitated healing groups – sexual abuse healing, uprooting anger, emotionally destructive relationships, post abortion and biblical peacemaking. 

I love seeing the Lord at work in people’s lives as He works healing and transformation in them for His glory!  I love seeing people becoming walking pictures of the Lord’s redemption.

I have also taught How People Change and Helping People Change.  These courses teach how the Lord brings about transformation in the life of a believer and how the Lord uses His people in the lives of others for sanctification purposes. 

I truly enjoy teaching these courses, seeing lives changed for the glory of the Lord and watching people grow in terms of living for Kingdom purposes. 

Can you estimate how many people you have taught "How People Change" to? 
I am going to guess between 200-300 people??

What are the most difficult aspects of counselling?

I would say the most difficult aspects of counselling is to hear about suffering people have endured and lived through.  It is at times difficult to come to grips with the presence of evil and how so many lives have been affected by it.

Have you ever felt “down” about a case and not expect a good result?

I guess that would depend on how you might define “a good result.”  If you mean a “happy ever after” result, sometimes I see that and other times I do not. 

I have learned over the years to trust the outcome to the Lord and in that sense, there is always a “good result” as the Lord changes me in the process. 

As far as getting “down”… many times I have been very sad for people.  Thankfully, the Lord has taught me over the years how to not carry responsibility that is not mine to carry.  As a result, I have been blessed to have not experienced any really “down” times.

Did you have times when God revealed Himself in a special way to you?

Many times the Lord has revealed Himself in terms of transformation taking place in the lives of very broken people. 

Many times I have prayed for wisdom and experienced immediate response to His promise to provide wisdom to those who ask. 

Other times while reading His Word, the Lord has revealed to me how that particular passage would comfort and help a specific client.  So I would say yes, the Lord has revealed Himself in special ways to me.

Were you able to leave the problems behind when you came home?

Yes and no.  I did not carry people’s issues with me in that they would preoccupy my thoughts but one is always affected in some way when you are involved with other people. 

I have heard it said that if you are going to get into the mud puddles of people’s lives you are going to get dirty.

 I would say that there have been times that the “problems came home” when I would have to give beyond the hours at Elisha House due to crisis etc.

What courses did you take with CCEF?

Almost all of them… I still have three more to complete but at this stage I’m not sure if I will be doing that as my life is taking a different turn.

Do you see churches moving towards Biblical Counselling?

I would describe Biblical counseling as, "applying the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ to the very difficult problems of real life."

 In some sense there has been much growth in the church in terms of the church now seeing more and more how Scripture is sufficient and that Scripture does speak into the difficulties of life. This is not to say that we cannot learn from other means such as psychology or science in terms of human suffering, but this kind of learning must always be understood through the lens of Scripture.  I think over the years the church is seeing this more and more. 

Do you have concerns for the Reformed churches today?

Not really…the church belongs to the Lord and He promises to care for her!! I believe that with all my heart!  So when struggles arise within her, I believe that is evidence of the Lord at work in her and purifying her. 

I believe He will bring her into truth and one day she will be presented to Christ “without spot or wrinkle”.  That does not mean that we as members can just coast along… we must always be dealing with our sin, living with kingdom purpose and manifesting God’s glory to the world around us. 

What do you see as a threat to the family and the Christian way of living?

I really do not believe that the threat to the family or the Christian way of life necessarily comes from without.  

I think the biggest threat to the family is the fact that we are often more influenced by the world than we are by the Word of God. 

Too often we forget to have our eyes focused on the things of the Lord and we live for the values of this world.  That is not to say that there are no outward threats to the family or the Christian way of life but if our hearts are stayed on the Lord- our families will stay strong in Him.

What advice would you give the leaders of the church?

Stay true to the Word of God.

Strive to make the church a safe place for struggling sinners, where they can be open about their struggles and receive help through the application of the gospel.

Strive to do all you can to “equip the saints of service” so that the Lord’s glory will be seen in this world through the church.

What are the top 5 books you would recommend for reading?

These are 5 books (not in any particular of order) that I have enjoyed reading:

The True Story of the World by Craig G. Bartholomew and Micheal W. Gogeen

Shame Interrupted by Edward T. Welch

Seeing With New Eyes by David Powlison

Caught Off Guard by William P. Smith

Pursuing Peace by Robert Jones